PGA Betting – BMW Championship Preview

by BetOnline.com on September 9, 2009

Just as the NFL week 1 matchups are posted and the season commences, the golf season is winding down as FedEx Cup playoffs reach week 3. The big story so far is Steve Stricker, who opened the playoffs with a runner-up finish and followed up with a win at the Deutsche Bank last week. Now, he heads to Cog Hill for the BMW Championship. Can he keep the momentum going?

After his win last week, Stricker now has three victories this season and 10 top-10s overall, putting him in major contention for PGA Player of the Year honors. He also did what few online betting fans expected him to do this season and jumped to No. 2 in the World Golf Rankings. Because Cog Hill is a short course, Stricker’s accurate, controlled game will work well there. He also won at Cog Hill in the past. At +1400 value, he’s your safest pick this week.

According to books, Tiger is the favorite at +175, but you should avoid him this week. He’s not “slumping” as badly as everyone says he is, but he’s off his game. He also hasn’t fared well on short courses this year because of his inaccurate driving and could this run into trouble at Cog Hill, which is playing around 6,900 yards this week.

Padraig Harrington is back on track and topping many sports picks lists this week at +1400 value. 2009 has been a year to forget for him but he has four straight top-10 finishes. If he can shape the sudden chokejobs that have stopped him short of victories several weeks in a row, he could win for the first time all year.

Then there’s our real favorite pick, Zach Johnson at +4000. His driver is a popgun but he’ll be just fine at Cog Hill. He excels at short courses thanks to his accuracy and his two wins this season came on courses that play similarly to Cog Hill. He gives you solid value and will make you happy if you bet on him this week.